The Jonas Brothers is a pop rock band discovered by Disney (but, contrary to popular belief, not manufactured by them...at least not initially), consisting of members/brothers Joe, Nick, and Kevinnote Jonas, with other spots in the music filled by studio musicians or tape decks.
The entire band began through Nick, who was the first to pursue a musical career around the age of 10. After his song "Joy to the World (A Christmas Prayer)" blew up, his brothers began following in his footsteps, and the rest is history.
They toured independently as a Christian Rock-slanted band with their father as their manager before getting signed to Columbia Records in 2005 and releasing their first album, It's About Time, which was not widely recognized. In the fall of 2006, after getting dropped from Columbia, they were signed by Hollywood Records and absorbed by the Disney Corporation, elevating them to some of the most popular Teen Idols of the late 2000s.
Between late 2010 and 2011, the band went on a hiatus to pursue solo projects. They reconvened in 2012 to begin work on a fifth album that was subsequently cancelled the following year after they broke up
due to Creative Differences. However, they shocked the world on February 28, 2019 with the announcement that not only had they reunited, but would release their first single in six years, "Sucker". Three months later, they released Happiness Begins, their first album in almost exactly 10 years (five days early of the anniversary date). Their sixth album, The Album, came out in 2023.
They starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie Camp Rock as well as its sequel, and had their own TV series on the channel simply titled Jonas. Kevin additionally had a show with his wife Danielle, Married to Jonas, while Nick had a recurring role on NBC's Smash. They have made further appearances on the American Music Awards, American Idol, and Dancing with the Stars.
As for the members' solo work:
- Joe's first attempt at going solo, the 2011 album Fastlife, was a critical and commercial disappointment. However, his career grew traction when he became part of the pop band DNCE, most known for their hit song "Cake by the Ocean", which went on hiatus due to the brothers' reunion but returned in 2022.
- Nick found success after releasing his second album/his first non-"young period" album, with his song "Jealous" gaining massive popularity. From 2009 to 2011, he also headed a side project called Nick Jonas and the Administration that only put out one album.
- Kevin is the least musically active out of the three, with no solo work.
Discography:
- It's About Time (2006)
- Jonas Brothers (2007)
- A Little Bit Longer (2008)
- Lines, Vines and Trying Times (2009)
- V (pronounced "five") (cancelled)
- Happiness Begins (2019)
- The Album (2023)
Tropes present in their music, music videos and performances:
- Adam Westing: Every single fictional TV and film role they've done has had them play rock star brothers. Plus, most of them have a cameo for their littlest brother and their bodyguard.
- All Just a Dream: The "Paranoid" video. ...or was it?
- Bowdlerization:
- They did a cover of "Year 3000" by Busted which removed the (negligible to the point of non-existence) profanity and to tone down some of the sexually-inappropriate lyrics and change some of the cultural references. Even when Busted performed it with them in Capital’s Summertime Ball 2019, Busted honored the Jonas Brothers version.
- In the song "Paranoid", the original line is, "I'm taking all the doctor's meds, I'm still freaking out." The radio edit goes, "Can't hear the thoughts inside my head, I'm still freaking out."
- Their cover of Busted's "What I Go to School For", changing it from a student crushing on (and then getting with) his teacher to a senior girl to tone down the overall sexuality.
- Brought to You by the Letter "S": Their emblem is a crest with “JB” monogrammed in the center.
- The Bus Came Back: After being Put on a Bus after they signed with Disney for some reason, they added 'Mandy,' the lead single from their first album, back into their setlist live, though albeit as the intro to a medley with five other songs following it, only playing up to the first chorus. It was also put on the Chasing Happiness compilation album for the documentary of the same name.
- Canon Discontinuity: Hollywood Records frequently advertised their second album as their first, preferring to ignore their actual first album, It's About Time. Justified since their 1st album was under Columbia.
- Christian Rock: Their pre-Disney independent work was a mixture of Christian pop-rock and covers of some pop-punk songs.
- Genre Roulette: Lines, Vines and Trying Times. Not as extreme as it could be, but in the space of an album, it goes from classic rock ("World War III") to country ("What Did I Do to Your Heart?") to an alt rock ballad ("Turn Right").
- History Repeats: They followed a similar route to Busted with their trajectory as a band. They started their band, got a record deal, became famous for a bit by doing a mix of Pop Rock and Pop Punk songs, then broke up for several years (though 6 as opposed to 10), then they eventually got back together after working through their problems and came back big, this time doing 80s-influenced Pop music.
- Lyrical Dissonance: "Tonight", which has the music of one of their standard love songs, but it's a pretty unhappy breakup song.
- The Moral Substitute: They were heavily promoted as a wholesome alternative to more authentic bands like Fall Out Boy and Panic! at the Disco - some of their posters and merchandise even used similar color schemes to those associated with the most successful albums of these bands.
- Mr. Fanservice: Joe . In their 3D concert film, he takes his jacket off and the screaming actually gets louder. At one point, they include a shot from the wardrobe change backstage for no apparent reason. Joe gets as far as taking his shirt and belt off, even goes to start undoing his pants, before it cuts off.
- Precision F-Strike: As they aren't attached to Disney anymore, they don't have to keep their mouths perfectly clean.
- Subverted with "Poison Ivy". The lyrics set it up for one of them to say "bitch", but being attached to Disney, they don't swear once. Instead, we get a very distinct pause accompanied with a crash cymbal perfectly timed for the word.
- Shirtless Scene: In their 3D concert film. Apparently, the editors decided to include a shot of their wardrobe change for no reason, likely for Fanservice, if anything. Joe gets as far as pulling his shirt and belt off and even goes to start undoing his pants before it cuts off.
- Stealth Pun: The album "It's About Time" has the songs "6 Minutes", "7:05", "Time for Me to Fly", "Year 3000", and "One Day at a Time", so...
- Title by Year: "Year 3000", a cover of Busted's, travelling to said time via Portal to the Past, well, Future.
- Title Track: A Little Bit Longer is the only one of their group albums to have one. The other ones don't even get so much as an Album Title Drop, with the exception of Happiness Begins.
